"They were searching my house while I was gone every day," I said. "They were searching for the cluviel dor."
"That's sad, that your kin would do that," Alcide said, and he patted me on the shoulder. "Who else did I smell? Eric, of course. And you know who else? Arlene. She was carrying a charm of some kind, but definitely Arlene."
"I didn't remember you'd met Arlene." I grasped at an irrelevant issue because I was stunned silly.
"She served me once or twice when I came by Merlotte's."
I figured out her access after five seconds' more cogitation. "She knew where I hid my keys from when we were friends," I said, infuriated by my own carelessness. "I guess before, or even after, she came to Merlotte's, she let herself in here and got the scarf. But why?"
"Someone told her to, I expect," Alcide said, buckling his belt.
"Someone sent her here to get the scarf that would be used to kill her."
"Apparently, that's what happened. Ironic, huh?"
I couldn't think of any other explanation.
And it made me sick.
"Thanks so much, Alcide," I said, remembering my manners. I got him the glass of lemonade I'd promised him, and he drank it in one long gulp. "How's Kandace doing, integrating into the pack?" I asked.
He smiled broadly. "She's doing real well," he said. "Taking it slow. They're warming up to her." Kandace had been a rogue wolf, but because she'd turned in some worse rogues, she'd gotten a chance to join the pack while the bad ones had been banished. Kandace was quiet and tall, and though I didn't know her well, I knew she was the calmest person Alcide had ever been with. I had the sense that after a life on rough seas, Kandace was looking for inland waters.
"That's real good to hear," I said. "I wish her luck."
"Call me if you need me," Alcide said. "The pack stands ready to help you."
"You've already been a help," I said, and I meant it.
Two minutes after he left, Barry pulled up in a car he'd rented from a new place out by the interstate. He'd also brought Amelia and Bob. Amelia said, "I'm asleep on my feet," and headed for the bedroom to take a nap, Bob hard on her heels. Barry ran upstairs to plug his cell phone into his charger. I glanced at the clock and realized it was time to get busy. I began cooking supper for six. Country-fried steak took a while, so I got that in the oven first. Then I cut up crookneck squash and onions to saute, and I chopped okra and breaded it to fry, and I put bakery rolls on a baking sheet to pop in the oven right before I served supper. I'd start the rice soon.
Barry came into the kitchen, sniffing the air and smiling.
"Did you have a productive day?" I asked.
Barry nodded. He said, I'll wait until everyone gets here so I'll only have to say it once.
Okay, I said, and wiped the flour off the kitchen counter. Barry cleared the counter of dirty dishes in the best possible way, by washing and drying them. He was far more domesticated than I'd ever suspected, and I realized there was much more to know about him.
"I'm going outside to make some phone calls," he said. I knew he wanted to be out of my earshot and mindshot, if I can put it that way, but that didn't bother me in the least. While he was outside, Bob ambled through the kitchen and straight down the porch steps, carefully easing the porch door closed.
A few minutes later, Amelia came out into the kitchen sleepy-eyed. "Bob went for a walk in the woods," she muttered. "I'm going to splash some water on my face." Mr. Cataliades and Diantha came in the back door ten minutes later. Diantha looked exhausted, but Mr. C was positively bubbly.
"I am smitten with Beth Osiecki," he said, beaming. "I'll tell you all about it over our meal. First, I must shower." He sniffed the air in the kitchen appreciatively and told me how much he looked forward to dinner before he and a silent Diantha went upstairs. Amelia came out of the bathroom; Mr. Cataliades went in. Bob returned from the woods, sweaty and scratched and with a bag full of various plants. He collapsed in a chair and begged for a big icy glass of tea. He drank it dry. Diantha had stopped at a roadside stand to buy a honeydew melon, and she cut into it. I could smell the sweetness as she cut out the fruit and diced it.
My cell phone buzzed. "Hello?" I said. The rice was boiling, so I turned it down and covered it. I glanced at the kitchen clock so I could turn it off in twenty minutes.
"It's Quinn," he said.
"Where are you? Who were you tracking down? We're about to eat. You coming?"
"The two men I saw were gone this morning," he said. "I think they caught a glimpse of me and checked out during the night. I've spent all day trying to find them, but they're in the wind."
"Who were they?"
"Do you remember . . . that lawyer?"
"Johan Glassport?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Barry saw him in New Orleans."
"He was here. With some guy who looked kind of familiar, though I couldn't put a name to him."
"So . . . what are your plans?" I glanced at the clock anxiously. It was hard to concentrate when I was trying to put a meal on the table. My gran had always made it look so easy.
"I'm sorry, Sookie. I have other news. I've been called away to take a job, and my employer says I'm the only one who can do it."
"Uh-huh." Then I realized I hadn't responded to his tone of voice, but his words. "You sound pretty serious."
"I have to stage a wedding ceremony. A vampire wedding ceremony."
I took a deep breath. "In Oklahoma, I take it?"
"Yes. In two weeks. If I don't do it, I'll lose my job."
And now that he was going to have a kid, he couldn't afford to do any such thing. "I get it," I said steadily. "Really, I understand. You showed up, and I love that you came here."
"I'm so sorry I couldn't catch up with Glassport. I know he's dangerous."
"We'll find out if he has anything to do with this, Quinn. Thanks for your help."
And we said good-bye a few more times, in different ways, until we had to hang up. By that time, I had to get busy with the gravy or supper would be ruined. I simply had to postpone thinking of Eric and Freyda's wedding until later.
After twenty minutes, I was calmer, the food was ready, and we were all seated around the kitchen table.
No one joined in my prayer but Bob, but that was okay. We'd said one. Getting everyone served was a ten-minute process. After that, the floor seemed open to discussion.